Genetic variation of high-altitude Ecuadorian population using autosomal STR markers

Fifteen autosomal STRs were analyze in order to elucidate the differences between low and high land Ecuadorian population. Seven Ecuadorian geographic areas (Tisaleo-Mocha, Cañar, Quito, Rocafuerte, Santa Rosa, Guayaquil and Lago Agrio) from different altitude were selected for the study. After the analysis, little genetic distances were observed between all cities, the more distant cities (F_ST = 0.02354) were Rocafuerte at an elevation of 17 m.a.s.l. and Quito at 2850 m.a.s.l. and the similar cities (F_ST = 0.00033) were Rocafuerte (17 m.a.s.l.) and Santa Rosa (10 m.a.s.l). In conclusion, there is not a great genetic distance in the 15 STRs reported in high and low land Ecuadorian population, therefore previously reported frequencies could been used in identification and paternity cases under analysis.     

日本开发老年人力资源的经验及启示

在人口老龄化不断加剧的情况之下,社会发展将更多地依赖于老年人的积极参与。而且随着长寿社会的到来,老年人的参与愿望和参与能力都在提升。日本是世界上人口老龄化程度最高的国家,已进入人口减少和超老龄社会。人口下降和老龄化将带来劳动力减少问题,对日本整个社会的均衡和可持续发展产生严重影响。为了应对劳动力不足问题,日本不仅修改《老年人就业稳定法》逐渐延长退休年龄,保障老年人继续工作,而且开展老年志愿者活动积极为退休的老年人创造再就业的环境。     

Application of Enhanced Point Estimators to a Sample of In Vivo CT‐derived Facial Soft Tissue Thicknesses

Facial approximations based on facial soft tissue depth measurement tables often utilize the arithmetic mean as a central tendency estimator. Stephan et al. (J Forensic Sci 2013;58:1439) suggest that the shorth and 75‐shormax statistics are better suited to describe the central tendency of non‐normal soft tissue depth data, while also accommodating normal distributions. The shorth, 75‐shormax, arithmetic mean, and other central tendency estimators were evaluated using a CT ‐derived facial soft tissue depth dataset. Differences between arithmetic mean and shorth mean for the tissue depths examined ranged from 0 mm to +2.3 mm (average 0.6 mm). Differences between the arithmetic mean plus one standard deviation (to approximate the same data points covered by the 75‐shormax) and 75‐shormax values ranged from ?0.8 mm to +0.7 mm (average 0.2 mm). The results of this research suggest that few practical differences exist across the central tendency point estimators for the evaluated soft tissue depth dataset.     

Examining Prison Effects on Recidivism: A Regression Discontinuity Approach

The “get-tough” era of punishment led to exponential growth in the rate of incarceration in the United States. Recent reviews of the literature indicate, however, that limited rigorous research exists examining the effect of imprisonment on the likelihood of future offending. As a result, scholars have called for assessment of this relationship, while using methodologies that can better account for selection effects. This study addresses these calls directly by applying regression discontinuity, a methodology well suited to account for selection bias, on a cohort of felony offenders in Florida. Results suggest that prison, as compared to non-incarcerative sanctions, has no appreciable impact on recidivism. Although no differential effects surfaced across race/ethnicity, the analyses indicated that imprisonment exerts a differential effect by gender with the effect being more criminogenic among males than females.     

俄罗斯的人口现状与普京新方针的制定

普京第 2次就任总统后,在其就职演说及随后向国会所做的致辞中,制定了发展经济、提高居民福利水平、消除贫困和军队的现代化等国家新的发展目标。俄罗斯人口的数量、密度、性别、民族构成及劳动力潜力的现状等人口因素对普京新方针带来了很大的影响。     

Validation of the Seratec® SeraQuant™ for the quantitation of prostate-specific antigen levels on immunochromatographic membranes

Abstract: Use of immunochromatographic membranes for the detection of prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) has become commonplace in forensic laboratories. Experiments were designed to test the newly developed Seratec^® SeraQuant? for accuracy, precision, and consistency in the quantitation of PSA. PSA standards were diluted with buffers and run on the instruments. Values obtained were examined for accuracy (was the correct value obtained?) and precision (were multiple sample values consistent?). To test for variation between instruments, large volumes of diluted PSA standard were run repeatedly on six units and the values obtained were plotted against the known PSA values to obtain a standard curve for each instrument. Fifty membranes having negative or weak positive results were then run on the six units, and the adjusted values were recorded and compared. Results of these experiments indicate that the instruments are accurate and precise in the quantitation of low levels of PSA.     

Age estimation and the developing third molar tooth: an analysis of an Australian population using computed tomography

The third molar tooth is one of the few anatomical sites available for age estimation of unknown age individuals in the late adolescent years. Computed tomography (CT) images were assessed in an Australian population aged from 15 to 25 years for development trends, particularly concerning age estimation at the child/adult transition point of 18 years. The CT images were also compared to conventional radiographs to assess the developmental scoring agreement between the two and it was found that agreement of Demirjian scores between the two imaging modalities was excellent. The relatively wide age ranges (mean ± 2SD) indicate that the third molar is not a precise tool for age estimation (age ranges of 3-8 years) but is, however, a useful tool for discriminating the adult/child transition age of 18 years. In the current study 100% of females and 96% of males with completed roots were over 18 years of age.     

Confidence interval of the likelihood ratio associated with mixed stain DNA evidence

Likelihood ratios are necessary to properly interpret mixed stain DNA evidence. They can flexibly consider alternate hypotheses and can account for population substructure. The likelihood ratio should be seen as an estimate and not a fixed value, because the calculations are functions of allelic frequency estimates that were estimated from a small portion of the population. Current methods do not account for uncertainty in the likelihood ratio estimates and are therefore an incomplete picture of the strength of the evidence. We propose the use of a confidence interval to report the consequent variation of likelihood ratios. The confidence interval is calculated using the standard forensic likelihood ratio formulae and a variance estimate derived using the Taylor expansion. The formula is explained, and a computer program has been made available. Numeric work shows that the evidential strength of DNA profiles decreases as the variation among populations increases.     

全球视野下的"粮食安全"问题

人口增长与经济快速发展,自然灾害频发与投机资本炒作,粮食安全问题成为世界关注问题。中国作为人口大国和快速发展国家,粮食安全问题受到世界关注,保障粮食安全已经成为中国政府的国家发展战略。世界粮食安全问题,不只是吃饭问题,而是国家生存问题,粮食已经成为战略资源。     

社会融合与城市流动人口犯罪治理

近年来,我国流动人口犯罪数量不断上升,已经成为影响社会稳定的社会问题。当前流动人口犯罪呈现出犯罪主体低龄化与团伙化、犯罪类型多为财产型犯罪、犯罪活动流窜性、犯罪形式暴力性的特点。流动人口犯罪产生的根本原因在于诸多因素阻碍了流动人口融入城市生活。要从根本上治理流动人口犯罪,必须通过调整社会治理措施,使流动人口能够真正融合到城市生活中。